East Pier Maritime Murals

The sailing vessel, the SOREN LARSEN was constructed by the Danish family of Soren Larsen & Sons at their shipyard in Nykoping Mors in Denmark in 1949. The ship was mainly employed on the Baltic sea routes and north European waters, and occasionally ventured as far afield as Iceland, and the United Kingdom. In 1972, the ship was gutted by fire and was laid up until 1978, when the hull was bought by Square Sail Britain. Being fully restored under their watch, she was re-decked with iroko timber and re-masted with Douglas Fir, and finally re-rigged as a 19th century-style brigantine. The vessel's new homeport became Colchester in the U.K.  On resuming operations in 1979, the SOREN LARSEN saw extensive use in television and film productions, which helped in a big way towards her overall restoration costs. She became well known for her regular appearances in the BBC Series 'Onedin Line',  the films, 'French Lieutenant's Woman', 'In Search for the Mary Celest...

  The SOTA EDUARDO was built in 1974 by the shipyard, Astilleros Y Talleres Celaya in Bilbao for the Sota Line, which was based in the Basque Region in northern Spain. She was one of two small sister coastal cargo vessels, the other being named the SOTA ALEJANDRO. They both traded to Wicklow Port on a regular basis from the late 1970s to the mid-1980s with cargoes of chipboard and other building materials from Bilbao and possibly, Marin. Their cargo capacity was just over 1000 tons, which made them the smallest vessels owned by this company. On 15th July 1985, distress calls from the SOTA EDUARDO were received by emergency services  as the vessel had got into serious difficulties north-east of the Humber while on passage from the Spanish port of Marin to Scarborough in Yorkshire with a cargo of chipboard. Rescue helicopters from R.A.F. Boulemar and R.A.F. Leconfield were immediately dispatched to the scene, as were the R.N.L.I. lifeboats from the Humber and Flamborough. The ca...

The tugboat, the DUNHERON was launched and completed in July 1955 as the GOLDEN CROSS by shipbuilders, Scott & Sons, Bowling for Tees Towing Co. Ltd., Middlesbrough.  The vessel held this name until 1968, when she was sold and her name changed to the  DUNHERON, a name which she held for many years under different owners. At one stage, from 1972 to 1977, she was under the Irish ownership of A.C. Cranes Ltd., Dublin, and after that was operated by Carmel Tugs Ltd. of Bromborough until 1991. In 1996, she was purchased for preservation by a Captain White of London, and was reputedly owned by actress, Suzie Wong. On 30th October 2006, she assisted the Royal Yacht, the BRITANNIA on an overseas departure and was the sole escort for that vessel on the final stage of her last voyage in 1997. During this deployment, her name reverted to H.M.R.T. (Her Majesty's Royal Tug) GOLDEN CROSS. In 2012, this interesting vessel was bought by a group of volunteers and moored at Ardentinny, Scot...

  I was delighted to be given an official tribute by Wicklow County Council with a new sign on the East Pier wall marking my near-50 years of maritime murals.  A big thank you to Cathoirleach of the CoCo, Cnllr. Paul O'Brien for launching this dedication, which includes a QR Code to view my murals and the stories that inspired them. Photos courtesy of Willie Byrne.

  The ROSA & ADA (F 105) was the largest and biggest gaff cutter, rigged fishing smack built by Collar Bros, Whitstable in 1908 for the Seasalter & Ham Oyster Company at that port, with whom she worked until 1963. A smack boat is a type of traditional fore-and-aft-rigged fishing vessel, often with a well to keep the catch alive. They were common along the coasts of Britain and America, particularly in the 19th century. During World War 11, the ROSA & ADA was requisitioned as a supply tender in the River Thames, where she serviced vessels searching for magnetic mines. In 1958, the vessel was run down at her moorings by a coaster in thick fog and sank. She was refloated shortly afterwards, repaired, and continued to work till 1963. Following several years in lay-up, the ROSA & ADA was bought privately, restored, and was then used for racing, while kept at Hollowshore in Kent. In 1981, she was bought by her present owner who sailed her to west Scotland. During the foll...

This gaff ketch rigged fishing smack was launched on 22nd April 1884 at the Garrison Side yard of William McCann shipbuilders at Hull for the 'City' fleet of Messrs.Simpson & Bowman of Hull, as one of a class of 10 long line sailing trawlers, all named after cities, in this case, the 'City of Edinboro'. These vessels typically worked the Dogger Bank and other associated North Sea fishery areas for cod. Their daily catch was always transferred to a fast steamer, which allowed them to stay at sea for weeks. It was gruelling work! In 1897, she was sold on to an Icelandic fish merchant in Reykjavik and renamed FRIDA, and fished regularly in Icelandic and Greenland waters until 1913. From then on, until 1967, the vessel worked under three successive Faroese owners, fishing in the same North Atlantic waters and sporting the respective names of the SOLVABORG, the SOLVASKER and the SJOBORGON. In 1980, she was discovered by Henry Irving in the Faroes and brought back to Hull...

The R.M.S. (Royal Mail Steamer) TITANIC was built by Harland & Wolff Shipbuilding Company in Belfast, and was launched on 31st May 1911 for the White Star Line. Being the largest ship afloat on entering service, she sailed from Southampton on her maiden voyage to Cherbourg with approximately 2,240 people on board, of whom 885 were crew members. The construction and fitting out of this notable passenger liner cost somewhere in the region of £1.5 million, which would have been equivalent to £180 million in 2023! The R.M.S. TITANIC was the second in a new class of liners, larger than anything that had come before, which was designed as the last word in comfort and luxury. As well as carrying some of the wealthiest people in the world, she accommodated hundreds of emigrants from the British Isles, Europe, and Ireland, who were seeking a new life in the United States and Canada. Following port calls at Southampton, Cherbourg, and Queenstown (Cobh), the TITANIC headed into the Atlantic, ...

  This stylish sail training ship, the TS ROYALIST, was designed by well-known naval architect, Colin Mudie as a brig, which is a type of sailing vessel defined by it's rig - in this case, two masts which are square-rigged. She was built by Groves & Guttridge in East Cowes, the Isle of Wight, and was launched on 3rd August 1971 by Princess Anne. She was operated by the Marine Society & Sea Cadets of the UK, and had a dedicated crew of 8, and accommodated up to 24 trainees on each voyage. She visited many ports around the UK, France, and several Irish ports. Because of her age, she was decommissioned in November of 2014 to make way for a newer brig-rigged vessel of the same name, which was built in Spain. Looking back on her 43 years of service, up to 30,000 cadets benefited from great offshore voyage experiences, which is an incredible legacy. Wicklow was one of the privileged Irish ports that the TS ROYALIST visited on several occasions in the late 1990s and early 2000s. A...

The CEG COSMOS was built in 1983 as the ELISABETH for German shipowners by Husumer Schiffswerft in Husum, Germany.  She was one of a successful series of ships built there for different German owners, and was capable of handling cargoes of up to 1100 tons, many of which are still trading in spite of their age in European waters! She was renamed the CEG COSMOS in 2007, following her sale from the previous owners. The vessel became quite a regular trader to Wicklow Port from 2014 onwards, and was engaged in the importation of cargoes of round timber or logs from the western Scottish ports of Fishnish, Ardrishaig, Lochaline, Campbeltown and Holy Loch. These cargoes were hauled by road to Murray Timber Ltd. in Carlow, where they were processed into many different products. I liked the stylish design of the ship and the fact that she was always very well maintained - a great testament to her builders and previous owners! Originally, she flew the Gilbraltar flag at the stern, which chang...

The LONDONBROOK traded to Wicklow in the early 1980s on a liner general cargo route from Swedish ports - among them, Gothenburg to Dublin and Wicklow Ports. Because the service in Wicklow was very efficient, the trade continued and increased in the port right up to the early 2000s.The ship was operated by a very well known British company called Everard Shipping. Their ships had become quite a regular feature in Wicklow Port since the early 1970s when their vessels were regularly employed on the Casablanca to Wicklow run, transporting rock phosphate for the N.E.T. fertilizer factory in Arklow. The LONDONBROOK was built in 1975 by Tille Scheepsbouw, Koostertille in the Netherlands. She sported several names during her career. In 1977, she became the TOWERSTREAM until 1980,b then the LONDONBROOK until 1986, the JOKER until 1993, and the NORMANNBAY until 1997. She was then sold to her final owners as the TRI BAY. She traded under this name until 31st August 2013 when she arrived off Aliag...

The ARCA was built in 1976 at the Orskov Shipbuilding Yard in Frederikshavn, Denmark as the PACIFIC COAST, a name which she held until 1978.  The other names that the vessel sported over her trading career were: the PACIFIC TRADER until 1981, the TRIVIA until 1984, the ARCA until 1992, the PACIFIC COAST until 1993 and, finally, the PETROS until 1995. I think it was around 1987 that she visited the port of Wicklow to load out a cargo of stone aggregates from Morrissey's Ltd. quarry at Balleece, near Rathdrum, and bound for Barking Creek on the Thames estuary. I was very impressed with this stylish 3000 ton vessel and her unusual profile. She was equipped with her own cargo handling gear, which included a deck crane midships, which enabled her to trade worldwide. Such a vessel was a rare sight in the port at that time, as ship design had only evolved to the stage that there was no cargo handling gear, and ports, like our own, had their own shore-based equipment. In 1988, I took up th...

  Congratulations to Pat Davis who is to be the Grand Marshall for this year's St. Patrick's Day Parade for the Wicklow Town Municipal District. Pat is Wicklow Town's renowned resident maritime artist who has been painting his striking murals of visiting sea vessels on the wall of the old East Pier in Wicklow Port for 50 years. His artwork is greatly admired and respected locally, nationally and internationally. Born in Rathnew, his family moved to Wicklow Town while at an early age. Fascinated by ships from the age of 9, sketching became his childhood hobby, which he continued as he grew older - capturing visiting ships to the port in pencil sketches and ink drawings. In the summer of 1976, Pat got permission from the local Harbour Master to retouch a mural of the Greek ship, the 'Eliana', which had been painted 5 years earlier in 1971 by a crew member of that vessel. Since then, he has been constantly adding new murals - now totalling over 80 - and maintaining exi...